Have you fallen out of love with your business?

We all know what it feels like to be a new business owner. Feeling like a kid in a sweet shop, we want to try everything and are eager to explore all the opportunities that being self-employed presents. But then over the years many of us simply get stuck in a pattern of how we do things, without realising that change can help our business be successful! This can lead us to become bored by, and even resent, our business. So, have you fallen out of love with your business?

The First Date

You have just started up your business and you love it already! You are enthusiastic and are overflowing with ideas about how you can accumulate clients and expand the services you offer. Any feelings of doubt are masked by excitement about what is to come.

The Honeymoon Period

This is the time when you and your business are fully acquainted. Things have been going strong for a little while; you put effort and time into growing your business and in return your business brings you a good profit. You attend networking lunches, you love talking about what your business can do for people and you research ways to make it the best it can be.

The Seven-Year Itch

Sometime later and your business is leaving you feeling deflated. You dread the sound of the alarm in the morning. You begrudge having to spend hours on social media marketing. You’d rather spend time doing anything that isn’t client work or bookkeeping. This can make it tempting to give up and even jump ship away from self-employment!

It’s Time to Fall Back in Love

Make being a business owner exciting again:
• Revisit all those things that you used to love about owning a business.
• Motivate yourself. Write a list of all the things you love about being self-employed. Make a plan for what you want to achieve in the next 6 months, including one goal that will challenge you.
• Clean, tidy and decorate… make your office space somewhere you want to be!
• Re-brand your business or refresh your website to modernise and attract new clients

Remember that even if your business has been running for many years, don’t let that stop you from trying new things and branching out- you are never stuck in a rut!

Falling back in love with your business is all about re-framing your mindset. There will always be challenges but instead of seeing them as impossible hurdles in your way, look at how overcoming them will strengthen your business.